What is lost is often found.

A long-awaited truth! A distress signal has been received at the Jedi Temple, and Master Plo Koon has been dispatched to investigate its origin. The signal is from a ship thought to be lost and was last known to be in the possession of a Jedi Master who was killed long ago....

“The Lost One” was a great exploration of some of the saga’s biggest mysteries and was an exciting, impactful, and engrossing episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The episode opened with Plo Koon and the Wolf Pack searching for a long lost Jedi shuttle on a desert moon. Their search through the desert was filled with amazing visuals and the opening shot was a nice tip of the hat to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe discovered the shuttle and lightsaber of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. It was great to see Plo Koon again. While I never thought much of him in the prequels, Dave Filoni has made him one of the most likeable and interesting Jedi of this era. I was also happy that The Clone Wars finally decided to address one of the biggest mysteries of the Star Wars saga, Sifo-Dyas. The prequels completely dropped this plot point, so it’s great to finally get some answers. Plo Koon informed the Jedi Council of what he had found. The council explained that Sifo-Dyas was a leading member of the Jedi Council until the rest of the council judged his ideas too extreme. I believe this is our first conformation that Sifo-Dyas was actually a member of the Jedi Council. Apparently Sifo-Dyas foresaw a coming conflict and wanted to raise an army. The Jedi Council and the Republic rejected these ideas. It was at this time he secretly contracted the Kaminoans to create the clone army. Jocasta Nu explained that Sifo-Dyas died during a failed peace keeping mission on Felucia and the rest of his file was sealed by the office of the Chancellor. This was also our first glimpse at Sifo-Dyas. Yoda sent Obi-Wan and Anakin to investigate on Felucia and went to see the Chancellor.

The Jedi clearly investigated the death of Sifo-Dyas, but I do have to wonder why it took them this long to do this in-depth investigation. He did commission the army they are using. The Chancellor told Master Yoda that his predecessor, Chancellor Valorum, sealed the Sifo-Dyas file. Obi-Wan and Anakin contacted Yoda and informed him there was a second Jedi on Felucia with Sifo-Dyas. Ok, but how did Anakin and Obi-Wan get to Felucia that quickly? Yoda then traveled to see Chancellor Valorum. It was great to see that character again. It was a nice bit of continuity. He informed Master Yoda that he sent Sifo-Dyas on a secret mission to deal with the Pyke syndicate. He didn’t know anything about a second jedi but his personal aide, Silman, had accompanied Sifo-Dyas before the Jedi Council diverted them to Felucia. Darth Sidious contacted Dooku and threatened him to clean up his mess regarding Sifo-Dyas or he would pay the price. Yoda then sent Obi-Wan and Anakin to Oba Diah, the home world of the Pykes.

When they arrived on Oba Diah, Anakin and Obi-Wan met with the Pyke syndicate’s leader Lom Pyke. This is the same Lom Pyke that was a part of Darth Maul’s Shadow Collective in season five. Adding Lom Pyke was a great way to add a whole new dimension to that character. After going back and forth with the Jedi, Lom Pyke admitted his involvement with Sifo-Dyas. A man named Tyranus hired the Pyke syndicate to kill Sifo-Dyas. They shot down Sifo-Dyas’ shuttle but discovered Silman was still alive. The Pykes kept Silman as insurance but tuned over Sfio-Dyas’ body to Tryanus who took it to Felucia. Tryanus was the other Jedi. Obi-Wan recognized that name from his Jango Fett investigation. Obi-Wan and Anakin began to interrogate the now crazed Silman, but before they could get anything Dooku arrived and killed Silman. Obi-Wan and Anakin engaged in a great lightsaber duel with Dooku. Lom Pyke arrived with his guards to back up the Jedi and identified Dooku as Tyranus. The Jedi finally learned that Dooku and Tyranus are one and the same. Dooku killed Lom Pyke and escaped. The Jedi Council acknowledged that their enemy provided Republic’s army. The council decided to cover up this fact because they are too involved in the war do anything about it. Yoda and the council said they believe in the clones as they have proven themselves but recognize the danger of this revelation and that there is a plot against them. While the prequels and even this episode portrayed the Jedi as clueless, the revelation that they knew Dooku oversaw the creation of the clone army and that by the end of the war they knew there was a plot against them went a long way to show that the Jedi Council aren’t completely oblivious. “The Lost One” was a great exploration of the past and an interesting look to the future during this time period in a galaxy far, far away.

What Worked

Finally learning about the mysterious Sifo-Dyas

Obi-Wan and Anakin’s duel with Dooku

Visually stunning opening sequence

What Didn’t Work

Why did it take so long for the Jedi to thoroughly investigate Sifo-Dyas’ death?